The aftermath was somewhat handled thanks to the efforts of the children and the teacher. But it wasn’t perfect. Yeon-woo, the teacher, let out a deep sigh. Cleaning was one thing, but seeing the kids, anything could happen, and it wouldn’t be surprising.
Everyone was covered in white flour powder, probably because they had flipped flour all over themselves. If they went into the classroom like this, the cleaning workload would only increase. Yeon-woo had no choice but to send the kids outside to avoid having them enter the classroom.
Since it coincided with dismissal time, Yeon-woo decided not to send the kids into the classroom and instead went in herself to bring their bags outside. If they went in looking like this, it would only mean more cleaning. The kids, meanwhile, were happily looking at each other’s flour-covered appearances.
“Alright, everyone, go straight home! Make sure to explain things well to your parents!”
It would’ve been best to wash them off before sending them home, but there were no facilities at the school to wash all the kids. It was just easier to send them home as they were.
Yeon-woo handed out the bags she brought from the classroom one by one. The kids excitedly took their bags and headed home.
—
“Hana, you’re so white!”
“You’re pale too!”
Hana and Jiyu laughed at each other’s flour-covered appearances as they walked home. Yumi, standing next to them, looked at them with a dissatisfied expression.
“Such troublemakers! I told you to stop, but you didn’t listen!”
Yumi was probably upset because the clothes she was wearing were her cherished ones. Her pink outfit was now completely white from the flour. Of course, flour would wash out in the laundry, so there was no need to worry.
If it had been something harder to wash, who knows how far Yumi’s anger would’ve gone. It was a relief. When Yumi got really angry, Jiyu and Hana would tremble in fear. Yumi wasn’t someone who got angry often, but when she did, it was terrifying.
“Oh my? Hana, what happened?”
Maru, who had been waiting in the car, made a fuss as she got out. She had arrived early today, so she was able to see Hana covered in flour.
Hana gave an awkward smile and said, “We were making pizza bread today, and somehow this happened!”
Maru quickly guessed what had happened. It was obvious Hana had been messing around with the flour. Seeing her friends also covered in flour, it was clear the prank hadn’t been a small one.
“Wait a second!”
Maru opened the car trunk. Inside were supplies prepared for just such situations, including clothes for Hana. Maru pulled out the clothes. There were enough for all three of them.
“Here, take these and go change in the backseat!”
Maru brought out a large blanket to cover the kids as they changed. The kids followed Maru’s instructions, changed their clothes in the car, and came out. Maru packed their flour-covered clothes into separate bags to keep them from mixing.
“Hmm…”
But seeing the flour still stuck in their hair, Maru felt uneasy. It didn’t seem right to send them home like this.
“Kids, let’s stop by the bathhouse before going home!”
Maru came up with a simple solution. Since it was dismissal time, stopping by the bathhouse wouldn’t be a problem. Jiyu and Yumi were excited at the idea of taking a bath and started jumping around.
“I wanted to go to the bathhouse with Hana anyway, so this is great!”
“Me too!”
Jiyu and Yumi loved the idea of going to the bathhouse, but Hana’s reaction was微妙. Hana tried to sneak away, but Maru caught her.
“Hana, you’re coming to the bathhouse, right?”
Hana tightly closed her eyes. There was no way out. She had been to the bathhouse with Maru before, but that was just the two of them. Going in with Jiyu and Yumi felt like crossing a point of no return. Hana shook her head side to side, expressing her refusal, but soon she was dragged into the bathhouse by Jiyu and Yumi.
—
Kim Seung-yong was a security guard at the Starlight Research Institute. Originally, he had been an athlete specializing in sports. He had even won awards at regional competitions. Of course, his dream was to compete in the Olympics, but unfortunately, he didn’t have that level of talent.
Anyway, he had seen the job posting for the Starlight Research Institute and decided to apply. Originally, he had wanted to work as a coach or in another sports-related field…
But he didn’t have the qualifications for that. There were enough athletes who wanted to become coaches to fill a truck. And most of them had way more experience and awards than Kim Seung-yong.
So he gave up cleanly and started looking at private security job postings. That’s when he luckily came across a job opening at the Starlight Research Institute.
“Why are they paying so much?”
For a building security guard, the salary was surprisingly high. Kim Seung-yong carefully examined the job posting. There had to be a reason they were paying so much. Maybe the working hours were long, or there were hidden difficulties… But Kim Seung-yong couldn’t find any obvious downsides.
The working hours were reasonable, and there didn’t seem to be any hidden issues. Kim Seung-yong went to a site where employees reviewed their companies. He found the Starlight Research Institute right away because it had high ratings.
Reviews from a year ago weren’t great—things like “no room for growth” or “just here for the paycheck”—but recent reviews were different.
[They pay well and have great benefits. If it weren’t for personal reasons, I’d want to work here forever.]
[The food is really good. The company even has a cute mascot. It’s such a great place that I never want to leave. The potential for growth is endless.]
Most of the reviews expressed regret about leaving the company. As proof, the number of people quitting was incredibly low compared to the number of new hires.
“Seems like it’s not a bad company.”
Even though people who leave a company usually leave negative reviews, there were a lot of positive ones for Starlight Research Institute. At least from the employees’ perspective, it seemed like a good place to work.
After a tough interview, he managed to become a security guard at the Starlight Research Institute. On his first day, it felt like he was back in the athlete’s village. Most of the people there were muscular and tough.
At first, he was nervous, but as he gradually adjusted, he found the job satisfying. The workload was so light it made him yawn. For someone used to high-intensity training, security work was a piece of cake. There wasn’t much to do—just waiting at the entrance and checking employees’ IDs and badges.
The pay was great too. The base salary was good, but the annual bonuses were even better, according to his seniors. He’d heard the research institute wasn’t originally rich, but its recent growth was impressive. It was now considered one of the top-earning research institutes.
What Kim Seung-yong liked most was the institute’s cafeteria. The food was so good it could rival a luxury hotel. To him, it tasted better than paid restaurants.
Because of that, many employees ate all three meals there. All the food was provided by the company, so there was no need to pay. You just had to scan your badge and eat. After joining, Kim Seung-yong noticed he was gaining weight. When faced with such delicious food, resistance was futile.
“The benefits are great too…”
The company had something called Hana Mall. Every month, they gave out points that could be used to buy various vegetables and fruits. For Kim Seung-yong, who lived with his family, this was a huge help in cutting down on grocery expenses. His mom even took over the account. They didn’t need to go grocery shopping anymore—just buy everything from Hana Mall.
The best-selling item was something called Starlight Rice, but Kim Seung-yong hadn’t tried it yet, so he didn’t know how good it was. He also didn’t understand why they named it Hana Mall. Wouldn’t “Starlight Mall” have been fine?
While lost in these thoughts, Kim Seung-yong let in a Japanese visitor and their interpreter who were on a business trip to the institute. Of course, thorough ID checks and security screenings were part of the process. The visitor’s name was Tanaka, but Kim Seung-yong had no idea who that was. Even if Tanaka was famous in Japan, he was a complete stranger to Koreans.
